Fathers and Sons
by Slayzer
Summary: Sazh and Hope go fishing while on Gran Pulse and talk about something that the others wouldn't understand, fathers and sons. A little splash of Hope/Vanille courtesy of a meddling and well meaning Sazh.


Final Fantasy XIII is owned by Square Enix and I make no money off it's use.

Sazh get's so little love and that sad because he's like the third coolest guy in this game. I like him way more then Fang, Vanille or Snow and I think Square Enix did him a disservices by keeping him as more of a joke character. Sazh is at times the most mature hero in the game.

I really did love the father son relationships in this game. Sazh and Daij as well as Bartholomew and Hope but again I feel they got skipped over for the all too cliched helpless little sister angle of Serah. (maybe I just don't get it not having a sister or a sister complex)

Looking at it like that I thought Sazh and Hope had a lot more in common then the game showed. So here they are in their own fic and I'm a little shocked that their aren't more story like this out there.

Fathers and Sons

by Slazyer.

For all the differences of Cocoon and Grand Pulse there were somethings that both had. Rivers and the streams that feed them were one such basic commonalty. That is where we find two of our l'Cie heroes.

Hope and Sazh were barefoot and knee deep into the cool clean water of a creek that had been untouched by human hands for centuries. In there hands were long fishing rods, not like Vanille's but sport fishing rods. Hope had just cast out again his line again.

"Nice cast." Sazh said keeping eye down stream for both fish and the occasional monster.

"Thanks. It's all coming back to me." Hope said totally focused on his lure.

Of the many talents of the group one of Sazh's was fishing but it was hard for him to catch enough fish for six people by himself. It turns out Hope knew how to fish as well but he was a little out of practice. Sazh assured Hope that the skill is never truly forgotten once it's been learned. He was right and Hope was getting a feel for it again. It was also good idea for Hope to get away from Lightning after what happened last night.

Last night Sazh needed some help gutting and scaling some fish he caught and Hope had helped out. The thing was that Hope used Lightning's knife to clean the fish. The blade was just the right size and worked beautifully but Lightning was less then thrilled to find the memento of her sister messed up filled with fish guts. Hope was going to clean it out when he was done but Lightning was still so angry with him.

A little fishing and lots of space away from Lightning was just what Hope needed. So here Sazh was with the kid fishing.

Somehow when your fishing there really is nothing you can do hurry the fish up. So you become still and wait, then as you do that your mind clears and your troubles slowly float away.

"Where did you learn to fish?" Sazh asked.

"My father taught me back where he had the time."

Sazh smiled. "I was going to take Dajh out fishing sometime before this happened."

"You can still do that we he get him back. Me and my father however, that ship left port a long time ago."

Sazh stopped looking at his line and turned to face Hope. The two of them didn't have the history like Snow and Light or Fang and Vanille. They were however on the flip sides of relationships that both felt were tricky for them, fathers and sons.

Sazh and Hope were clearly not father and son but there was some insight to be had by both of them. How did Hope feel about his father and how was Sazh with his son? Bartholomew and Dajh were very different situations for both of them but still there was something to learn here.

"Is it hard for you just being with your father?" Sazh asked Hope. Dajh would just smile and always cheer Sazh up but that's not how it was suppose to be. Sazh couldn't help but worry about how Dajh was feeling behind that bright smile of his.

"It's hard because I don't have a father. I am alone."

"Come on now we can't give up until this is over. We're all fighting to get our loved ones back so don't go saying your alone."

"Even for this all started I lost my father." Hope said never looking up from his rod. "Me and him, it wasn't hard like it is now. We use to do so much together and all of it outside. Camping, bike-riding, fishing but then..." Hope stopped as his eyes started to water a bit thinking about his dad.

"What changed?" Sazh asked feeling like his relationship with his son was on the line.

"His job. As he worked is way higher and higher up the corporate ladder he had less time for me. It got to were I barely saw him some-days and then we just started to drift apart. I know he loves me and he was doing this for me and mom. The better job with better pay and a bigger house that's was what he thought his family needed. It just doesn't even out thought, the big family vacation didn't make up for all those missed Saturdays." Hope stopped to brush a tear out of he eye with his sleeve. "I understand though. Dad did what he believed was best for me and mom."

Sazh nodded along feeling Hope opening up to him like he hadn't to the others. "But understanding doesn't make it hurt less dose it and neither dose bottling those feelings up."

"The damn thing was our trip to Bodhum was going to be our big family get away. Me and him were going to try to make up for lost time but something happened at work and they needed him but to me it felt like he need his job more then me. Then mom died and he wasn't there. I know it's not his fault but I'm so angry with him for not being there for us that I hate him."

Hope would have broken down crying if for not at that moment Sazh put a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "Then when this is all over and you see your father again you tell him that. Don't hold anything back from him from now on."

"Thank you Sazh. Dajh is so lucky to have you as a father."

Sazh let go Hope and shook his head sadly. "Well I don't know about that. I haven't been doing that good of a job."

"Your going through all this for him. How is that not doing a good job?"

As much as Sazh sometimes felt like he had failed his son to many times to count he couldn't argue with Hope on that point. It would be impossible to make everything right but damn it all if he wouldn't try when he got his son back.

"Now here's an idea for when this is all over. The Katzroy Estheim Father Son fishing trip. You, me, Bartholomew and Dajh all out fishing."

Hope thought that sounded like a wonderful idea. "Nice but don't you think we should invite everyone?"

Sazh gave Hope an odd look. "You really think Snow, Fang and Lightning would enjoy fishing? This takes a lot more finesse then Snow or Fang have. More over could you see Lightning out here standing knee deep in cold water for several hours keeping very still."

Thinking about the temperament and lack of patience that half of the team had Hope realized that they wouldn't have much fun. "Your right. Fishing takes more patience then those three have. I could just see Light losing it after a hour, she get mad and blame the fish for not letting her catch them. From then it's only a matter of time until she whips out her gunblade and then no one's having fun."

Sazh smiled. "Speaking of Lightning losing it did she ever tell you about her battle to the death with a door?"

"What?"

"After I meet her Lightning and we got trap behind this door and she just hacked away on it like a lumberjack on a tree."

Hope laughed at thought. "Oh man that would be just like her." he stopped smiling when he thought of that anger of of her's now aimed at him. "Do you think Light will be mad at me long?"

"No, you and Lightning will fine after she finds something else to be mad about."

"So I need to stay away from her until the next time Snow opens his mouth?"

"Pretty much." Sazh stopped joking with Hope for a moment and then gave the boy a sly smile. "You know those hot heads may not be much for fishing but Vanille would be fun to bring along next time, don't you think?"

Hope blushed slightly but on his pale cheeks it was all to apparent. "Vanille? I guess she would be a good a fishing and It might be nice to have her along next time."

"Why don't we ask her now. Hey Vanille!" Sazh shouted over Hope's head at the bank of the stream.

Vanille was walking past for reason that she only knew but if Sazh had to guess she was keeping an eye on Hope. The way she jumped when he called her name made that possibility all the more likely. "Vanille do you want to try fishing with us?"

Vanille looked away for a moment before answering hesitantly. "I'd like to but I don't have a fishing rod."

Sazh smile was bright it was almost beaming. "Don't worry you can share Hope's rod and he'll be more then happy to teach you."

Hope elbowed the older man. "What are you doing?"

"Setting you up to bat. Now hitting it off and how many bases you can run is up to you." Sazh whisperer.

Hope felt a lump in his throat. Then he saw Vanille by the shore taking off her sandals. He couldn't help but stare at her cute feet and those long lovely legs of hers as she steeped into the water. At that moment Hope wasn't sure if he should be mad and Sazh or thank him.

Vanille walked over to were Hope and Sazh were standing. "Hope your going to teach me how to fish?"

Sazh had to give the shy boy a bit of a nudge to bring him back.

"YES! Ah, I mean sure I can if you'd like to learn." Hope said after a start.

Vanille smiled at him. "If it's you teaching me Hope then I'd like to learn very much."

Vanille then moved next to Hope and took his fishing rod from him. "It's much lighter then the rods I use in battle."

Hope got closer to Vanille and helped her take hold of the fishing rod. "Using a fishing rod is a lot different then the one you use to whack monsters with."

Hope then took Vanille through some basic fishing skills. Casting was something she had down as the movements were the same with her battle rods.

Vanille was a quick study and in no time was casting away with Hope right next to her coaching her along the way. "Your a very good teacher Hope."

"If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish you feed him for a lifetime." Hope said sheepishly.

Vanille stopped and turned to face Hope her eyes wide with amazement. "Hope that so insightful. I knew you were deep but I never thought you'd be so wise."

Hope was about to tell Vanille that it was just a old saying when Sazh patted him on the back. "Hope is full of surprises." It seemed that Sazh had no problem with giving Hope credit for a centuries old Cocoon proverb.

Hope was now debating how that felt when something more pressing happened , Vanille's lure sank into the water. "You got a bite!"

Vanille's rod almost jerked out of her hand by the sudden strong pull. Hope helped her hold on to the poll as she reeled the fish in. Sazh ran to get the net as both Vanille and Hope pulled their catch closer and closer.

'That's got to be fifteen pounds at lest.' Sazh thought as he pulled the big fish thrashed in to the net. It was in that critical moment that the line broke.

Vanille and Hope overbalanced and fell backwards into the stream with a splash. A second later both Vanille and Hope pulled themselves up not even caring that they were soaking wet. "Did you get it!" Both teenagers asked more worried about the catch then their falling into the water.

Sazh just showed them the net with the large fish thrashing about safely inside.

A look of pure joy crossed Vanille's cute face and she pulled Hope into a big hug. "We did it Hope!"

In her enthusiasm Vanille almost slipped again but Hope held on to her waist and steady her. Sazh couldn't help but smile seeing Hope blush and clearly enjoy being so close to Vanille. "Looks like you got yourself quite the catch Vanille." Sazh said.

"I know this is the best catch ever!" Vanille said happily.

Sazh's smile turned slightly mischievous. "Yeah and getting this fish was nice."

Vanille and Hope both looked at Sazh blankly as his words went over their heads. If he wasn't talking about the fish being Vanille's nice catch then...

It then hit Vanille and Hope that they were still holding each other rather closely. As embarrassing at that was for both Vanille and Hope neither one of them moved to let the other go. It just felt so nice holding one another in their arms.

Sazh didn't even look at them as he walked away with the fish heading for camp. "I'm going go clean this guy and grill him up. Why don't you two dry off first and then head back." then as almost an after thought he added. "Now you can came back to camp together but when I would recommend drying off separately."

That last crack made both Hope and Vanille blush to the roots of their hair. Sazh just keep on walking not even stopping to look back at them. However once Sazh was a good distance away from Hope and Vanille he cast a look over at near by boulder. "Aren't you two still a bit too young to old busybody maids."

Lightning and Fang didn't move to show themselves if though Sazh had caught them red handed. The two women just looked sheepishly at each other and stayed low. So what if they were a worried about Hope and Vanille and wanted to keep an eye on them?

"I think you both of your just going to have to face the truth. Lightning your surrogate son is in love with Fang's surrogate sister and I think she loves him back."

If nothing else Sazh was sure his word left both women flustered so that they leave Hope and Vanille alone. If anything was going to happened now it would be on Hope but if the kid ever need advice or help with girls he knew were to find Sazh.

No matter what Lightning thought somethings it takes a father to show a boy how to be man.

-End-

Well let me clear a few things up.

One, I know nothing of fishing. I saw the movie "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" and even thought I'm twenty years under the target market I loved it. After seeing I thought of Sazh and Hope having a leisurely chat about faith, fathers and life while fishing.

Vanille got mixed into this because I could never see Lightning enjoying fishing. She really doesn't have them temperament for it.

Secondly let me say this. Hope is my favorite Final Fantasy hero because I can really relate with him. His strained relationship with his father looks like the one I had with my father at that age. The feeling that Hope had toward his father in this fan fiction are every much like my own feelings for my father when I was that old. (Not that part when Hope blamed his father for not being their when his mom died. My mom is very much live and still married to my dad. That part was my interruption of Hope's feelings)

I understand my father better now as a young man. He did what a man of his generation was expected to do, go out and be the breadwinner and proved for your family, which he did very successfully. Even today when we talk about back then he'll say he should have made more time for me and my brother as we were growing up and less time at work.

Well no one can be a perfect father because all children are different and so are their needs but I love and respect my father dearly.

It was only a few years ago that someone pointed out to me that when I talk about my father I never call him dad. I don't know if that say anything about my relationship with him but it's the truth.

God now this feels way to heavy to leave off right here.

Let's end on something lighter.

-My First Vanille/Hope Ending-

Hope looked down at his wet shirt and jacket laid out on a rock in front of him. He focused another fire spell into his hands and held it over his wet clothes. Hope's shoes and shocks were drying in the sun but he had left his shorts on even though they were still damp. You see Hope was very nervous because just behind him was a line in the dirt and on the other side of the line was Vanille likewise in a state of undress.

Hope couldn't tell if when he shivered it was from the cold water or from excitement at the thought of turning around. For all the honor and selflessness Hope had he was still a red-blooded male and his instincts pulled at him. He was so conflicted that he he didn't notice that his clothing had started to smolder.

"Damn it!" Hope cursed as he cut off the fire spell.

"Something wrong?" Vanille asked form behind him. Behind him and yet so very close.

"No, everything's fine. Just put to much power into a spell."

Vanille however had no problem looking over at cute young boy. Hope was so tense that she thought it was adorable. However he left his shorts on and Vanille didn't think that was sporting of him at all not that the parts she could see were bad. That so soft looking pale skin of his and wet sliver hair both just begging to be touched.

Vanille sighed both from longing and disheartenment. She had wanted to catch Hope sneaking a peek at her but no such luck. She wanted to know if Hope liked her or not and then they could stop this silly game they had been playing.

'Well one of us is just going to have to take the lead.' Vanille thought to herself.

Most of Vanille's clothing was dry but her hair wasn't and was out of it's normal ponytails. She casually stepped over the line in the dirt she had made walked up behind Hope. Then Vanille warped her arms around Hope's chest.

"Vanille... … … I thought you said not to cross that line." Hope said softly and somewhat afraid to move and brake her hold on him.

"I said you couldn't cross it. I didn't say anything about me not crossing it." Vanille leaned over and whispered in to Hope's ear. "What I want to know is why you didn't you cross it or even look back at me?"

Hope blushed. "You asked me not."

Vanille soft sighed sound almost like a purr in Hope's ear. "So you thought of it as an order and not a challenged? I don't know how you do things in Cocoon but do I really need to be the one to make the first move?"

Hope then spun around and kissed Vanille passionately on the lips. She pulled back a bit but he stopped her and held her close.

"How was that for my fist move?" Hope asked leaving Vanille breathless after their first kiss.

Vanille just smirked and kissed Hope back.

Vanille was sure that this wasn't just Hope's first first move but checkmate.

-The End-

With this ending I have whored Hope out to every major female in the FFXIII universe. If was a PS3 I would have won a Trophy just now. Also this is like the fifth story were water plays a role. Maybe I just think water is romantic.

Well the only achievements that a fan-fiction writer needs are reviews so tell me what you thought.


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